I listened to Performance and Cocktails in full just 3 days ago on the drive home from Bristol. First time I'd played it in about 12 years. Was prompted after hearing Bartender and the Thief in a restaurant earlier in the day. Was planning to whack WGA on as well at some point this week. Definitely going to now!!

Every shop, every house, every pub, every club. It was like everyone in the entire town of Bridgend had unanimously decided that this was the best album that had ever been made. Never seen such a general positive opinion of an album amongst a varying group in my life before or since. Cwmaman is not too far from Bridgend, so perhaps there was a bit of "local boys done well" about it, and it's bland enough to appeal to the masses, but it takes more than that to be so universally appreciated. About 25 people from my year in school ended up going to see them in Afan Lido leisure centre, that night was one of the highlight of my teenage years for numerous reasons, and the atmosphere of the entire crowd knowing every single word to every single song was a big part of it. Even more ended up going to the Cardiff Castle gig, when that happened, but the magic was wearing off by then. I remember the excitement and anticipation The Bartender And The Thief created, with people's expectations for their future being feverish. Inevitably they could never match that first album peak, and parts of it have aged worse than others, while everyone who adored it has grown up, but I'll never be able to have an unbiased view on that album because contextually it was everything about that year of my life, whether by choice or not.